
Earth Mama
Director: Savanah Leaf Run Time: 100 min. Format: DCP Release Year: 2023
Starring: Bokeem Woodbine, Doechii, Dominic Fike, Erika Alexander, Olivia Luccardi, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Tia Nomore
IFFBoston Presents
Special Preview Screening!
** Admission is FREE **
NOTE: Passes are required. Download and print your pass: Download A Pass (Adobe Acrobat is required to open and print the pass.) Please arrive early. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis and is NOT guaranteed. Theatre is not responsible for seating over capacity.
Gia is a young mother fighting for her children. Her son and daughter are in foster care, and now her unborn child could also be taken away. Struggling to work enough hours with court-mandated classes, she’s barely making ends meet. Gia loves her children unconditionally, but how will she give them the future they deserve?
Savanah Leaf’s directorial feature debut is an intimate depiction of a mother’s fear and love. Leaf’s elegant visual language interjects lush visions of hope and visceral manifestations of Gia’s deepest fears into her everyday life. Moving performances root the film in authenticity, including that of newcomer Tia Nomore, whose Gia is tender, conflicted, and layered. The warm texture of the film envelops us in Gia’s reality, while a knowing score smiles at the beauty of everyday moments.
Between the backdrops of Gia’s counseling classes and portrait studio job, Leaf crafts a story that redefines perspectives and asks us to bear witness—to vulnerability and the desire to be seen. Leaf’s permeating vision brings fullness and complexity to Gia, reclaiming her humanity and honoring the different forms love can take.
—Sundance Film Festival guide
Co-presented with Roxbury International Film Festival